Casserole House in Oakland (Korean in Temescal)

I ate at Casserole House last night for the first time in many years. It was a cloudy evening, so I was craving some sort of soup or stew. Arriving around 6:45, the restaurant was nearly empty, though by the time we left at 8:00, the main dining area was mostly full.

1) A medium-sized beef dumpling casserole, which costs $35. It was enough to fill four large individual bowls, so it was plenty for the three of us. The beef dumplings are big and round with a soft filling (couldn't really tell what else was in there besides beef). The stew also contained clear noodles, some rice cakes, various veggies (onion, pepper, cabbage, bean sprout), and mushrooms. Broth was slightly spicy, but not at all overpowering.

2) Seafood pancake. This was definitely freshly fried and really good. I wouldn't say it was packed with seafood, but the overall flavor was nice and the crispiness made up for everything else.

Panchan were plentiful and there were some less-common items: sauteed eggplant, marinated fried tofu, steamed broccoli, kimchi and radish, an omelette sort of thing, bean sprouts, and maybe 3 or 4 others that I'm forgetting. Our meal came with a bowl of rice for each of us.

Total bill for all of this was $56 before tip, and this included one coca cola, but no other drinks. They serve some hot barley tea at the beginning of the meal, which had added ginger, which was a nice touch. Complimentary sweet rice drink for dessert.

This felt like a good deal for the amount and quality of food that we ate. We ate almost everything, but all left very full. I've had the goat stew before and remember it being great, but I'm curious if folks have other stew suggestions. Looking forward to returning soon.

Easter dinner wouldn't be complete without this nostalgic Southern dish on the table. Made with chunks of pineapple, crushed Ritz crackers, shredded Cheddar, Pineapple Casserole is a rich casserole with an unlikely flavor combination. See more Easter recipes here.

This is not your mother's sweet potato casserole (and that's a good thing). This version is only lightly sweetened, tender rather than gloppy or mushy, and accented with a hint of ginger. It's still topped with browned, gooey marshmallows, though, because some traditions are worth sticking to. Read more.